1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for selecting a cover material for use with a vehicle seat component.
2. Background Art
Vehicle seats for use with a motor vehicle typically include a foam core covered by a seat cover. The seat cover may include an outer layer made of such materials as fabric, vinyl, or leather, and one or more other layers, such as a foam pad and/or a scrim layer attached to the outer layer. Furthermore, the seat cover may be divided into a number of panels that are sewn together, or otherwise joined together, to form a desired shape.
Frequently, the materials to be used for the seat cover are selected at an early stage in the vehicle seat development process. For example, such materials may be selected prior to determination of the final contour of the vehicle seat. As a result, processability issues related to the seat cover may arise during the vehicle seat manufacturing process. For example, it may be discovered that the materials selected for the seat cover are not able to conform to the final contour of the vehicle seat without excessively wrinkling. As another example, it may be discovered that the materials selected for the seat cover tend to pucker at or near seam locations.
The present invention provides a method for selecting a cover material for use with a vehicle seat component and the method includes determining the processability of the cover material before proceeding to utilize the cover material in manufacturing of the vehicle seat component. As a result, a sufficiently processable cover material may be effectively selected for a particular vehicle seat application.
Under the invention, a method for selecting a cover material for use with a vehicle seat component includes establishing a material processability standard for cover materials selected from the group consisting of standards for marking resistance, fabric pattern, pile bind, rippling resistance, laminate wrinkle resistance, raveling resistance, seam puckering, stretch, and elongation; conducting testing of a cover material for compliance with the material processability standard to determine whether the cover material meets requirements of the material processability standard; and considering test results of the cover material before proceeding to utilize the cover material in manufacturing of the vehicle seat component.
The step of considering test results may include conferring with a vehicle manufacturer regarding the test results when the cover material does not meet the requirements of the material processability standard. As a result, all interested parties may be involved in selecting a suitable cover material.
In addition, the method may involve establishing two or more material processability standards selected from the standards identified above; conducting testing of the cover material for compliance with the material processability standards to determine whether the cover material meets requirements of the material processability standards; and considering test results of the cover material before proceeding to utilize the cover material in manufacturing of the vehicle seat component.
Further under the invention, a method for determining usability of a cover material with a vehicle seat component includes conducting testing of the cover material for compliance with a material processability standard selected from the group consisting of standards for marking resistance, fabric pattern, pile bind, rippling resistance, laminate wrinkle resistance, raveling resistance, seam puckering, stretch, and elongation to determine whether the cover material meets requirements of the material processability standard before proceeding to utilize the cover material in manufacturing of the vehicle seat component.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments for carrying out the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.